@Tsurii Really? I didn't realize. Perhaps I could take a second look at it and see what the layout is and compare it to Kakariko from Ocarina. But then that would imply the Kakariko in Twilight Princess is a completely different village, right? Regardless that was a fun segment.

@LegendOfPokemon You're in for a treat, this game is amazing. With the one caveat that it takes a while to get going. Where are you currently at?

And the Temple of Time was interesting. I liked the Ocarina callbacks, and I actually liked going back with the statue, it was kinda neat seeing stuff from before used in new ways. Although I agree the boss key location is pretty meh, and the boss itself was even more meh. It's probably the most underwhelming boss I've fought in TP so far.

This pretty much summarizes how I feel about the Temple of Time. I didn't appreciate the callbacks as well as I should have when I first played through it (it was my first Zelda game), but I'm interested to see what I all notice when I get to playing this version at some point in the next few months.

As for the series and the obsession with cannons, it's one of those things that I just roll with in a series rife with things like zombies, freaky four-year-olds, strange fairy men, ???, and crazy chicken ladies, to name a few.

I'm not overly fond of City In The Sky, partially because the music (just like the Forest Temple) annoys me after a while. It's also incredibly easy in some sections to be knocked off or to fall to your death. The redeeming features here are the item upgrade that you get in this dungeon, and I find the boss to be a fun one.

@Tyranexx Honestly I didn't like Twilight Princess at all the first time I played it 8 years ago. Now I love it, partly because the HD version fixed a couple of issues, partly because I've accepted it as its own game and stopped comparing it endlessly to Ocarina (which was my first 3D Zelda, I played it a few months before TP).

I highly recommend you give it another shot, as a second playthrough will probably let you appreciate a lot more ofthis game. Also, make sure you have at least a basic understanding of the timeline split from the end of Ocarina, since that will help you understand and appreciate the story of Twilight Princess much much better.

@LegendOfPokemon They improve pretty dramatically over the course of the game. The absolute worst thing about TP is how poor of a first impression it makes, and that extends to the dungeons as well.

This will never be my favorite Zelda game (currently, putting aside SS, which I've yet to play, this is competing with Ocarina for the dishonor of being my least favorite 3D Zelda), but it does get better, and I've gone from hating it to enjoying it fairly well.

@shadow-wolf: Ironically, it took me two tries to fully appreciate Twilight Princess (Wii). The first time around, I stopped 3/4 of the way through the first dungeon as I got stuck; I hadn't played anything like a Zelda game up to that point, and honestly I just remember being fed up with the game to the point that I shelved it for the time being and started to play Okami. In hindsight that was probably a good move since that game is very Zelda-like in many aspects. The second time I gave Twilight Princess a shot, a combination of patience and new knowledge helped me through. After the Tears of Light sections, I'm in agreement with many that the game gets much better. To this day, it's one of my favorite Zelda games (which is saying something since I'm on my sixteenth!).

I'm pretty knowledgeable on the timeline, though to be honest I don't treat it as gospel on all occasions (particularly the Downfall branch). I wish I had gotten into the series sooner, if only to experience the games as they came out versus playing catch-up and cleanup over the last few years. XD

TP’s beginning is a slog... but yeah, second and third play through let’s you appreciate the game’s good points much more. The bad side is that it also reinforces some of it bad points - the tear of light segments and how annoying is to travel Hyrule.

It isn’t my favorite, but it is by no means bad either. It was nice replaying when the Hd version came out. SS on the other hand...

Completed City in the Sky, which I didn't much care for (although the boss encounter was interesting), and also completed some side activities, including opening up Malo's new store in the castle town, and that turned out to be... incredibly surreal, and VERY funny. I can't get the theme out of my head now.

Yeah, Malo's store (and the theme) are just plain weird. At least the prices are less outlandish, which is noticeable if you tried going in there before baby face performed his buyout.

As for City In The Sky....Yeah, I feel that the dungeon boss outshone the dungeon as a whole. I remember the dungeon being sort of hum-drum and borderline frustrating at times (so much WAITING) back when I last played.

1) I played through the Palace of Twilight today. Oddly unfulfilling, though, considering how short and basic it is. And one of my least favorite enemies in the entire series, the wallmaster, returns here! It's all capped off by a cutscene that takes any and all menace away from the Zant character (he goes from Darth Vader to something more like Jar Jar Binks once you see what a wacky, funny animal he is) and a boss fight that just lazily recycles material from previous dungeon bosses. I also have to admit that I laughed when he popped like a balloon after Midna used her powers to kill him.

2) Collected the big quiver, or whatever it's called, that allows me to store 100 arrows! Took the better part of 120 or so rupees, but I finally (barely) finished the mini-game.

3) I then proceeded to clear the entire Cave of Ordeals. It's not too difficult if you go in properly prepared, although nothing makes fighting three Dark Nuts at the same time easy. I also forgot about those invisible rat things that slow you down until you shake them off, so I spent the better part of five minutes in one level of the cave trying to figure out why Link was waddling around like he had a stick shoved up you know where. I finally got to see the Great Fairies, but they seem kind of pointless when they're all cloistered in this one cave. Also, they're pretty unimaginative compared to the flamboyant, fabulous, and occasionally terrifying Great Fairies from games like Ocarina of Time and Breath of the Wild. They're just... generic fantasy fairies here.

1. That revelation about Zant throws a lot of people off. Honestly, I think it makes him a little more unnerving in his own way when you realize that he's completely NUTS. Yes, it ruins his epicness a little, but for some reason I still weirdly enjoy that fight (particularly the Ball & Chain part).
2. Some mini-games in the series are borderline frustrating if you're going for 100%. Congrats for getting the Big Quiver! (or whatever it's called)
3. The Great Fairies in OoT/MM have probably scarred some children for life.

Hyrule Castle was a disappointment. Almost nothing in the way of music, and no more than a handful of rooms that throw groups of enemies at you before you finally get to Ganondorf. Easily the worst iteration of Hyrule Castle I've seen in this series.

The final boss fight was alright. Puppet Zelda was suitably creepy, although I found the beast and horseback phases to be somewhat annoying (particularly since Zelda can't seem to hit the broad side of a barn with those light arrows). And even though his final form was less difficult to fight than the average Darknut, it was kind of cool seeing it all come down to a one-on-one confrontation between Link and Ganondorf. Of course, Ganondorf was barely even in this game, so it didn't feel like the epic showdown it should have been. Overall, I think I prefer BotW's spectacle and the moodiness of OoT's final Ganon boss fight.

Also, Zelda is magically fine for reasons that were never explained. Definitely my least favorite iteration of the princess: unlike other games, where she's heavily engaged with the plot, this one... surrenders her kingdom to the twilight realm, "kills" herself, and then (poorly) shoots arrows at Ganondorf from the back of Epona after she's magically resurrected. She's a really boring, generic character in this game, unlike OoT, WW, and BotW. I do love her design, though.

Midna was great. Best companion character I've ever seen in a Zelda game, and, honestly, in a game full of boring personalities, she stood out with her sarcasm, fury, and intricate character development. Also loved the tender yet somber final interactions between her and Link. That single, solitary tear she sheds when she accepts that her and Link will never meet again was a great touch. Best character in the series, just behind Tetra and BotW's Zelda.

Plot-wise, this might be my least favorite game in the series. There's little of interest here that isn't directly related to the development of Midna's character. The whole game is practically a contextless search for various MacGuffins that are barely integrated into the larger story.

Outside of Midna, the best thing about the game was the dungeon design. While some of them aren't hugely fun to play through, I feel like the puzzle design here was unparalleled, even in the ones I didn't particularly care for. These dungeons are giant and meaty, yet lack the pointless bloat of OoT/MM dungeons where you spend a ton of time pushing blocks, shooting eyeball switches, etc.

The bosses were all pretty pedestrian, however. I feel like OoT is still the Queen of Zelda games in terms of how creative and challenging its bosses were.

At first, I felt like Link was very stiff and didn't control well, but I feel like, once you learn a lot of the extra moves, he becomes a much more agile fighter, and I'll admit that my complaints about the controls largely disappeared about half-way into the game.

While I'll have to replay Ocarina of Time again to be sure, I think this is probably still my least favorite of the 3D Zeldas. It has some definite high points, but there are too many areas where it's underwhelming or actively frustrating. I'm definitely glad I decided to play it, though.

So far, if I had to rank them, I'd say:
1) Majora's Mask
2) Breath of the Wild
3) The Wind Waker
4) Ocarina of Time
5) Twilight Princess

Once I've got this game out of my system for good, I'll start on Skyward Sword!